I have to say I am nothing short of flabbergasted at the sheer amount of negativity that has taken up a good portion of this page since I last posted in this thread.
Let's put things in perspective. We have topped the Group with seven points out of a possible nine in a difficult group. We have not lost a game. We have got through on a similar record to Spain's. Any Team in the Tournament would have been happy to get through on the record that we've ended up with.
In Football, especially Tournament Football, the result is everything. How you get there is simply a means to an end. In as little as a few days down the line, never mind weeks, months and years, you don't look at how much possession a team has, you don't talk about how X played badly and Y played well, unless it was a particularly memorable performance from a Team or Player (e.g. a thrashing of another team, a player getting a Hat-Trick or Sent off etc), you look at the result.
Those who are unhappy with England's style of Football may want to think about The Netherlands. In the last World Cup, they played a pragmatic style of Football that resulted in much criticism, especially as they are known as the Nation that created "Total Football". This new, pragmatic style got them to the World Cup Final, where they were beaten by just one goal to nil, in Extra Time, by Spain.
The Fans, Media, Pundits, Ex-Players and Ex-Managers (the most notable of which was Johan Cryuff) flooded the Manager and the National Team with criticism because their style of Football had not succeeded, ignoring the fact that they came as close as they could possibly get.
Since then, they have given in to the pressure and started trying to play "Total Football" again. It got them to Euro 2012, albeit facing mostly mediocre at best opposition along the way. They got 0 points in Euro 2012.
Was it because of the way they played? Not necessarily by itself, but the fact that they tried to force themselves to play that way, against what had worked so well for them previously with the nearly exact same squad of Players, created pressure that suddenly made them Amateur like for the majority of Euro 2012. Add to that the fact that their Defence is terrible (Heitinga is particularly poor in my opinion) and suddenly the fact that they got 0 points doesn't seem so surprising.
England are playing a more pragmatic style of Football in this tournament and it is working. It is given us the results we have required, no matter how you slice it. It was so important that we didn't lose against France, we didn't. We needed to beat Sweden and Ukraine, we did. Would you rather England force themselves to play pretty and lose? Yes we have rode our luck at times, but every team needs to do that to have a chance. There is nobody or no Team who has won something without any luck. Germany are arguably the most lucky team in International Football History.
Steve, I cannot believe your comment about England resembling the Under 10's School Team at times. I thought you would be better than that. I honestly have no idea what you are on with there.
Can you explain how Young, Wellbeck, Milner and Lescott aren't anywhere near International Standard and suggest who should be in their places? Young played well against France and played great against Ukraine last night, perfect Cross for Rooney's chance that he should have scored, and a further more great passes and crosses throughout the game. He always looked dangerous whenever he was on the Ball.
Wellbeck has played great. He's held the Ball up well and been patient, he's created no end of problems for the Defenders in all three games and he scored a quality Goal against Sweden, what more do you want? I think Sir Alex Ferguson would also agree that they are of International Standard, but what does he know about Football?
Milner does have some weaknesses, the main one being his lack of pace and he is more suited to being a Central Midfielder than a Winger, but he does a lot of important chasing back and general "Donkey" work that others would simply not do and he is a fantastic crosser of the Ball. There is a case for possibly better options on the Right but they do not come without their weaknesses either.
Lescott, again, simply how is he not good enough and who should play in his place? This is the same Centre-Back that played a big part in Everton being such a difficult team to beat a couple of years back and plays fairly often for Man City.
Rooney had his bad moments yesterday but you'd expect that. It is rare for a player of any quality to play perfectly when they've had a significant amount of time away from playing, but he did some good things too and the fact that he scored and played 80 mins tells you that Hodgson was justified in picking him.
How was choosing to play him ridiculous? He is our biggest attacking threat, it is so important that you get as many as your best players playing as possible in a Tournament such as this. Should Hodgson have just waited to see if we got to the Final before picking him?! Giving him a game just before the knock outs makes absolute perfect sense.
Yes Carroll played well against Sweden but you can only pick 11 players and it's a Manager's job to make these tough calls. Again Hodgson is justified because England won and furthermore Rooney scored the only Goal of the game. He was in the right place at the right time, which believe it or not is a skill in itself, all good Strikers try to ensure they are in the best position they can and are ready to take the chance if it comes their way.
Among the criticism that so many England supporters and observers seem so happy to dish out without a second thought, the contribution of Gerrard has been critically under-stated. A lot of people argued that he wasn't the right choice to be a first-team regular, never mind the Captain. But he has been easily one of the best players of the Tournament so far, if not the best and again Hodgson has got this spot on.
Three quality, Beckham-esque assists, great passes and so many crucial tackles, interceptions etc. Again, so many people just love concentrating on the negatives and putting them down and I just don't understand why.
I'm not sure how many of you are actually supporters of England or just observers, but supporting any team, club or country, is about trusting that the Manager, Players and everyone else who contributes to try and bring that team success are giving 100% to the cause and as long as they are, getting behind them and in the case of those who attend the matches, giving them positive vibes to help give them that extra push. Yet more and more seem to think it's about kicking them when they're down or criticising them at the slightest chance. I don't understand it and I never will.
Italy will provide a very tough test for England on Sunday, they are four times World Cup Winners for a reason. It could go either way. I for one hope it goes England's way. And credit to Sweden for their win against France. With a bit more luck, Sweden might have got through this Group.
And finally, sorry for the long post but as you can see I have a lot of clear and strong views and I was keen to express them.